Oblivion Hath No Fury Like A Woman's Vengeance
by PheonixWolfGirl
Summary: This is a story of adventure and romance, with hints of tragedy and angst. It is centered around the Dragonborn's quest to help one woman find vengeance and to learn that all is not lost. [Male!Dragonborn/Female!OC] I will change the rating to M once I finish and upload the 2nd chapter. Please leave a reveiw, but try not to criticize too harshly, as this is my first real story. :)
1. Chapter 1

**Oblivion Hath No Fury Like A Woman's Vengeance**

By: PheonixWolfGirl

Chapter 1: How I Met Her

"Uch. Been tending your hounds? You smell like a wet dog." Inquires some random Stormcloak guard as I pass under the pathetic excuse for a gate to Falkreath.

"Something like that." I tell him when I stop to look at him. He's a scrawny one, not even a grown man yet. At this point he finally realizes just who I am.

"Wait, you're Stormblade! You're the reason that High King Ulfric was able to liberate Skyrim! By Talos, it's an honor to meet you!" he starts gushing like an obsessed schoolboy. Oh joy, another suck up. Maybe I should scare him a little bit; hopefully it'll put some hair on his chest and chin.

"How old are you soldier? And how long ago were you recruited?" I ask him with a stern look. He counts using his fingers before answering.

"Umm, 18 winters, sir. And I joined up earlier this month. They assigned me to Falkreath, so here I am." He says, bouncing on his heels with an idiotic grin on his face. I run my hand through my obsidian-colored hair. Yep, he has no experience. I don't think that Ulfric or Galmar would've recruited someone so green. It was probably Ralof who recruited this little whelp of a soldier. I'm surprised that he ain't recruited his nephew Frodnar yet. Of course Gerdur would probably murder Ralof if he let Frodnar join. I look back up at the guard and realize that he's looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue the conversation. Time to make him soil his loincloth.

"They assigned a 18 year old fresh recruit to guard FALKREATH at night?! In the RAIN?! What in Oblivion are they thinking?! I'm gonna have words with your commanding officer in the morning, if you're still alive." I declare rather angrily. He shrinks back at my outburst. Good, I need to uphold my reputation for being unapproachable. Hopefully it will keep the fangirls from bothering me. Most of them are only interested in me because I'm the Dragonborn, and I happen to be King Ulfric's heir should he die before he has children, though I doubt that he will die before fathering an heir.

"May I ask why I might not survive, sir?" he asks rather timidly. Good, he's starting to be intimidated by me. But my work here isn't done yet.

"Werewolves. You won't see or hear them coming at night in this weather. But they can still sniff you out just as easily as if it were a bright clear day." I see him pale as I tell him this. I don't want to scare him so much that he deserts. Ulfric and Galmar would be irritated at me. "But you should be okay for tonight. I ain't heard any howling tonight, and it's raining hard enough to keep even the man-beasts inside." I reassure him before I start to walk toward Dead Man's Drink to get a pint and a bed.

"I thought that you said that you wouldn't hear them coming? How would you know if they are howling or not?" he calls after me. Damn, he's a little bit smarter than I expected. I can't let him know too much.

"I said that _**you**_ wouldn't hear them coming. I have much better hearing than most." I reply without even looking back. Hopefully that will satisfy his curiosity for now. What he doesn't know is that most unfamiliar werewolves I find hunting in my territory end up on the wrong side of my teeth and claws. I continue walking to Dead Man's Drink; Talos knows I need a stiff drink after dealing with that milk-drinker of a boy. I slam open the tavern door, causing Valga to turn her head towards the sound and to bite her lip at the sight of me. Looking around, I notice that the common room of the inn is empty except for Valga and me. Even the bard is gone. On second thought, it's late, so maybe I'll skip the mead and go straight off to bed. I turn to address the innkeeper.

"Valga, I'll take the usual room for the usual rate." I announce as I drop a coin purse on the bar and start walking towards my room.

"Sorry, Stormblade, but someone else has already rented that room for the night." She states exasperatedly. I give her an incredulous look as I stop in my tracks and do a 180° turn to face her once more.

"Who had enough coin to rent the best room at the normal rate?" I ask as I give Valga one of my best glares.

"Actually, this adventurer paid double the normal rate. Some people are better at hanging on to their coin than you, oh mighty Dragonborn!" she says with a sarcastic eye roll. She is one of the few people who is unaffected by my intimidation factor.

"Well then, who is this adventurer that can pay double the normal rate? I'd like to meet him." I say rubbing my hands together with a mischievous glint in my eye. _"I can't wait to rip him a new one."_ I think to myself. My inner thoughts are interrupted by a female voice that I don't recognize coming from behind me.

"She's right behind you." Says the voice. I turn around to the sight of the most beautiful Nord woman that I have ever seen in my entire life, which is saying something since beautiful women are throwing themselves at me all the time being like _"It's a fine day with_ **you** _around, Dragonborn."_ My jaw threatens to drop as my eyes take her in. She wears a typical blacksmith's apron and is tall even for a Nord. I notice the thick, powerful muscles in her arms and legs. _"She could probably rip a fox or a hare limb from limb with her bare hands"_ pipes up my inner wolf, licking his chops as he fanaticizes about her. _"Down boy"_ I mentally chide him. Her hair is a gorgeous reddish-brown, and she has soot marks on her face and hands. I couldn't tell you anything about her chest area because I got lost in her sea-blue eyes. She speaks up again bringing me out of my thoughts once more. "My name is Anija Ehrendottir, and I am searching for the Dragonborn. Are you him?" she explains, tilting her head a little bit at the end. I realize that she is asking me a direct question, so I pick up what's left of my confidence and get ready to see what this strange but beautiful woman wants.

"Yes, I am the Dragonborn. You can call me by my name though." I say flashing her a hopefully smug grin.

"You'd have to tell me first. And I'm not here to get buddy-buddy with some self-important player, Divines know I had to deal with enough of that with Eurik back in Ebonfield." Anija says rather dryly. I decide that it might be time to get serious about this conversation.

"My name is Wulfric Bjornson. And if you aren't here to vie for my affections, thank the gods, then why are you here?" I ask her while she gives me a puzzled look.

"You mean to say that you, Wulfric Bjornson the Dragonborn, actually dislike attention from your 'fangirls'? And I'm here because I was told that I might find be able to find you here." She says, still giving me a peculiar look.

"Of course I dislike all the attention that I get from women; they may be beautiful, but they are far too desperate for my tastes. Plus, they all smell too flowery and sweet. And why did you need to find me?" I ask while shooting a glare at Valga, who's standing in a corner laughing at the whole scene. Damn her to Oblivion, she shouldn't be laughing at me and my awkwardness.

"I need you to teach me how to kill a dragon." Anija finally says as a fire lights up in her eyes. I am dumbstruck for a moment before deciding that I either heard her wrong or she is touched with Sheogorath's madness.

"Excuse me, Anija, but I don't think I heard you right; it sounded like you just said that you wanted me to teach you how to kill a dragon." I tell her while sitting down at one of the bar tables and gesturing for her to sit by me. She sits down before continuing the conversation.

"You heard right. It's kinda a long story, but I need to kill a dragon. But not just any dragon; I need to kill the dragon that destroyed my home and murdered my friends and family." She explains with clenched teeth and fists. I watch her take a breath and slowly relax her hands and jaw before speaking again, "I need you to train me and then assist me in bringing down that winged terror." Anija looks at me with an almost pleading look in her eyes. Damn her, I've just met her and already I feel like I would do anything to make her happy. _"There's a reason for that you know. Her soul calls out to us."_ States my inner wolf. _"Shut up! We can't fall in love, not when we might accidentally hurt our lover."_ I think back to him. _"The grohiik has a point. This joor punahro sil calls for us to jaaril her. We will not aax her."_ Comments Sahrotaar. _"What'd he say?"_ asks the wolf. _"He says 'The wolf has a point. This mortal female's soul calls for us to protect her. We will not harm her.' And Sahrotaar, who invited you into this thought argument? I gotta go, Anija is looking at me weird."_ I explain irritably. I decide that there is no way that I would get away with not helping her, and finally give her an answer.

"You want to train, then I will train you. But right now you need to get some sleep. We leave in the morning for Whiterun. And we'll be taking the long way." I tell her before laying down on one of the benches to try and get some sleep for myself. Hopefully the wolf and the dragons will let me sleep. Anija looks shocked for a moment before she nods her head in agreement and goes back to the room she rented to get some shut-eye.


	2. Chapter 2

**Oblivion Hath No Fury Like A Woman's Vengeance**

By: Hannah Cook

Chapter 2: How She Discovered My Blessing/Curse

I wake up the next morning to someone poking my arm. As I open my eyes I see the girl, no woman, from last night standing over me. Anija, that's what her name is. _**"** You forgot our destined mate's name? **"**_ inquires the wolf. _**"** She's not our destined mate. **"**_ I reply grumpily. _**"** You just keep telling ourselves that, Dovahkiin. **"**_ Sahrotaar chirps up. _**"** Remind me again why I freed you from Miraak, you snake of a dragon. **"**_ I counter before ignoring the wolf and the most vocal of the dragons trapped in my head in order to focus my attentions on Anija.

"About bloody time you woke up, Stormblade." She says with a smirk. Not her too, I'm gonna have to hurt Ulfric for giving me that stupid nickname.

"Divines, no. Just no. You don't get to call me that. It's bad enough that I have to deal with all the Stormcloak soldiers calling me that stupid nickname. Come up with something else to call me. And why the hell did you wake me up so early?" I say while motioning for Valga to bring me my usual cup of Canis Root Tea sweetened with moonsugar.

"Damn, someone isn't a morning person." Anija comments with a smirk. I roll my eyes at her and start drinking my tea. Then I notice what armor she is wearing and spray out perfectly good tea, wasting it.

"Holy fuck! Where did you get daedric armor? That stuff is hard to come by, and yours is probably the best quality workmanship that I've ever seen. Counting only daedric armors of course." I start gushing as try I examine the armor more closely. But I stop when I realize that Anija has backed away from my curious hands. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." I apologize quickly, dropping my hands to my sides and daring a glance at her sea blue eyes. What I see in her eyes is not what I expect. She has the same look in her eyes that bandits get right before I maul them to death. But her eyes are glassed over as if it's not me she sees, but someone else, someone who scarred her emotions and broke her spirit. "Shit, someone hurt you didn't they? Tell me his name and he is as good as dead. No one should hurt anyone the way you've been hurt. I won't allow this monster to live." I say, surprising even my self at my sudden dedication to protecting her. Good thing that executing rapists is an official duty of mine. Hopefully she won't find my protective instincts weird. Her eyes grow cold before she speaks again.

"He is already dead." She states before grabbing her already packed gear and storming out the tavern door.

"Was it something I said?" I nervously ask Valga. She just looks at me and gives me a small sigh.

"You better run along now if you want to keep up with her, lad." She states sadly. I ignore that fact that she just called me a lad as I grab my things and chase after Anija.

She doesn't say a single word to me until we are about a mile southeast of Gjukar's Monument.

"Just who the hell do you think you are, knowing my whole life story like that?" She almost bellows at me. "And what makes you think that I didn't strangle him with my bare hands? Stupid fucking men, always thinking that every woman they see is either a piece of meat, or a possession to obtain, or a fragile little thing that can't protect herself!" she starts sobbing as she plops down on a nearby rock.

"Anija, I don't think that you can't protect yourself. Most people wouldn't be able to survive a sudden dragon attack. Shit, I was surprised when _**I**_ lived to tell the tale of Helgen. I just really hate the beasts that call themselves men and only seem to get pleasure from hurting women. They deserve to die. King Ulfric agrees with me. That was what I was talking about when I said that I would kill him. The King has given me absolute authority to execute any and all rapists and molesters. That is one of my official duties as a very high-ranking Stormcloak solider, to extend justice in Ulfric's name throughout the kingdom of Skyrim. I was just trying to do my job." I explain softly in hopes of calming down her nerves. She looks up at me, eyes red with tears.

"Thanks, I guess. I suppose that you want me to tell you about it now?" she says with venom in her voice.

"I don't want you to tell me if you don't want to tell me. Some things are best left unsaid until the proper time. I don't even expect you to want to tell me." I reply softly. Then I see just a glimpse of hope and trust flash across her face.

"I'll tell you about it. But you have to promise me that you won't interrupt me, if I lose my momentum then I might not be able to finish the story." She says sadly.

"Agreed." I reply with a hopefully reassuring smile.

Anija's flashback POV

The night was dark and welcoming. It developed me into a never-ending rest. It's a place where nothing can ever hurt you. Where even the scariest of monsters, whether it is man or animal, can't reach you. I wished to remain in this state of mind; whether it killed me or not. Sadly, not everything could be avoided. My destiny was already rolled out and on that day, I learned something very important. Fire is inevitable.

The day started like the average day in Skyrim. The sky was decorated with multiple shades of red, orange, and purple. The wind howled through the air and placed goose bumps against my skin. It was so peaceful, so relaxing. Little did I know what was going to happen. Everything I had, everything I worked for, would be gone in a matter of seconds.

I was working the forge outside, banging metal against the workbench. ' _Those damned Stormcloaks. Always asking for more weapons and armor. I guess it's worth it, considering how much they will pay me for this particularly large order. Imagine all the gold I'll get. No more living like livestock!'_ I smiled to myself.

I was quickly pulled out of my train of thought when I smelt something vile hit my nostrils. It was alcohol, and a lot of it. I turned towards the source of the smell. I saw Eurik lumbering towards me holding a half empty bottle of alto wine. Shit, he's horrible when he's drunk. I put down the sword that I was trying to forge. Maybe if I didn't look threatening he would be less likely to hit me. Aunt Nurida told me that I was not allowed to fight back because Eurik's family could ruin our reputation; which I thought was complete and utter bullshit. We are actually wealthier than Eurik's family, mostly due to my twin brother Aidan's monopoly in the daedra heart business. People also seemed to like the weapons and armors that I forged. Eurik's family just has more political connections, thus making him more popular and respected around town. With a drunken laugh, Eurik finally stumbled over to where I was standing.

"You really shouldn't get this drunk in public, Eurik. It could damage your family's reputation." I tell him softly. Rage floods his eyes and he comes dangerously close to my face. His warm, liquor-filled breath hit my face, making me grimace in disgust. I tried backing away but he firmly grabbed my arms and pulled me back to him and brings his face close to my ear.

"I ain't give a flyin' fuck about ma family's repurtation! I'm slick and tired of ya delynying me ma right ta bed ya! Imma fix that problam right chere and nolw!" he whisper-yells, slurring his words and slobbering all over the side of my face. He starts trying to rip my clothes off.

"Let go of me!" I yell. He smacked his calloused hand across my face, then punches me in my gut, and finally wraps his hands around my throat.

"Shuddupp ya bitchin' lil' slut! If ya make even a lil' peep Imma make dis lot worse for ya dan it half ta be!" he commands me, his face an inch away from mine. "Do ya gots it?!" he finishes, face still very close to mine. I nod my head and he undoes his trousers. "Nolw ya is gonna put ya mouth on ma cock and sluck it til' I come. An' ya will swoller erey last drop." He orders me sharply. I see movement behind Eurik, but he is too drunk to notice. The footsteps approached at a faster rate and the person seemed to be in a rush. I tilted more to my right to get a good look at the person. Aidan, my twin brother, approached us with a look of fire spreading across his face. ' _Thank the gods! Someone has come to rescue me!'_ When he reaches us, he roughly grabs Eurik's shoulder and releases a fire spell. "Aaargahh! Let ma go ya barsterd!" Eurik screams in pain.

"You WILL unhand my sister or I WILL summon a Demora to tear you limb-from-limb." Aidan angrily instructs my would-be rapist. At first Eurik doesn't make any move to obey my brother. But then Aidan started up the conjuration spell in his left hand; Eurik started trying to scramble away from us. "Anija, get inside the house while I deal with this bastard. I'll come check on you in a little bit." My brother explains through clenched teeth.

I walked back to my forge, pretending that nothing happened. _'There's no time to think about that bastard. I still have weapons to forge.'_ I brought my half-forged sword to my workbench and started hammering it into a curved position. Once that sword was done, I made another, then another, then another, and another. I was so caught up in forging that I didn't notice the sun had set.

I looked upon the horizon while wiping the sweat from my brow. "Oh there you are, I was looking for you. Damn, you're really working hard today. These swords look really good too." I turned around to find Aidan looking at my pile of finished swords. I smirked in triumph. "Well after the incident today, what else could I do to get my anger out?" I asked, placing my hand on my hip. Aidan chuckled lightly and walked toward me. He placed his hand on my head and ruffled my hair. "Oh baby sister, you're so innocent."

I pushed his hand away. "I'm not your baby sister! We're the same age remember?" Aidan threw his head back and laughed. "Yes, yes I know. But I came out first." He smirked at me. I rolled my eyes and walked toward the forge. "Making more weapons? I thought you would be done for the day?" I grabbed the lever on my forge and made it retract into my piston. This way no one can use it without my permission. I grabbed my forged swords and placed it in my safe. I walked into our family's house and prepared myself for bed.

"Anija, are you here?" My aunt called out to me. "Yes, I am." She came into my room and sat on my bed beside me. "I heard about what happened. I'm so sorry." Tears of regrets slowly slipped down her face. I held her hand in mine. "It's alright, Nurida. It wasn't your fault." She smiled at me. "My, what a brave girl you've turned out to be. Much like your mother." I smiled back at her. She kissed my head softly and grabbed my shoulders. "I'm so proud of you. I promise, nothing like that will ever happen again." I nodded in agreement and lay down on my bed. "Goodnight Anija." My aunt stated sweetly before leaving my room. "Goodnight Nurida. I love you." She popped her head back in. "I love you too, my sweet girl." I smiled and closed my eyes, falling into a deep sleep. 

"Anija. ANIJA! Wake up! Wake up now!" Someone kept shaking me, trying to wake me up. I groaned in frustration as the unknown person disturbed my peaceful sleep. I opened my eyes slightly to see Uncle Tulrik with a worried look plastered on his face. I slowly sat up and allowed my mind to adjust to the bright surroundings.

"Uncle Tulrik? What's going on?" I asked in a raspy voice. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of my bed. "There's no time to explain. We have to leave, let's go." I gave him a confused look as he dragged me. "Are Aunt Nurida and Aidan coming?" He flinched at their names. He ran faster and pulled me out the door.

What I saw next will haunt me for the rest of my life. Fire was scorching the entire village. Houses were burning and helping it spread across the road. The screams of burning people were ringing in my ears. Their bodies burned with a putrid stench filling the warm air. "Anija! Help me!" Eurik yelled, running at me with his entire body engulfed in flames. Uncle Turich pulled me along, giving me no chance to help the burning man, not that I would have anyways.

"Uncle Tulrik, what is happening?" I asked, on the brink of tears. He glanced back at me. "A dragon attacked us out of nowhere. I thought the damn things were extinct, but apparently they aren't. Aidan is fighting it. He knew his place and he wanted to save his family. Sadly, he couldn't save everyone." He paused.

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

"Nurida, she… She's dead." He explained with tears running down his grizzled face. He took me over to a shaded stump a ways away from Ebonfield and bade me sit down.

"Anija, I need you to stay right here. Don't you dare try and join the fight for anything! Even if everybody else dies, I don't want you to try and fight it. Once it flies away, you need to search the village for survivors. Then take all the supplies that you and the other survivors can carry, and go find somewhere else to live. You could find a husband, settle down somewhere, raise some young'uns, and live a peaceful life. Don't go lookin' for trouble like Ehren did. If my brother hadn't gone off and tried to kill that vampire, then you and Aidan would've grown up with a real father. So promise me that you won't go lookin' for danger, we get enough of it as it is just livin' in Skyrim." He starts rambling as he squats in front of me.

"Yol toor shul!" shouts the legendary dragon as Aidan runs backwards over the hill, firing spell after spell at the beast.

"Aidan! Watch out!" Uncle Tulrik calls to my twin brother as he runs in wildly swinging his great-sword. I watch in horror as the dragon leans down and eats the top half of my uncle, great-sword and all.

"Tulrik! Nooo!" cries my older twin as he falls to his knees, his spells sputtering out in his palms. The dragon turns to face Aidan once more, shouting fire and burning my brother to ashes as I watched. And then I fainted.

Wulfric's POV

I just sat there and stared at the beautiful, broken woman sitting in front of me. She had tears streaking down her face, ruining the black war paint pattern that I had never seen before I met her. The war paint looked like she had taken two fingers on either side of her nose, placed them on her cheekbones and made a downward curving motion out to her jaw. She looks at me expecting me to say something, so I say the only thing that I can think of. "I'm sorry, Anija. I had no idea." I then notice a strangely familiar odor on the wind, coming from the northwest.

"Wulfric? Are you even listening to me anymore? Or are you going to start ignoring me like every other man who realizes he has nothing to gain from talking to me?" I hear Anija querying me. I put my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Anija, please be quiet, something is wrong and I'm trying to figure out what it is." I calmly tell her in a hushed voice. She tries saying something else, but it is muffled by my hand. The source of the familiar odor was getting closer to us, and I had an idea of what the scent was when I realized that my inner wolf was getting restless and agitated. _**"** What is it boy? **"**_ I asked my inner wolf. _**"** Children of Molag Bal! **"**_ my inner wolf growls back to me.

"Shit! Anija, I need you to grab my war axe from my pack, you'll need it if you want to live." I command her. A wild look crosses her face as she grabs my Dawnguard war axe from my pack and assumes a battle stance to my right.

"What is going on, Wulfric?! Why do I need this axe? Why are you taking your armor off?" she questions me as I remove my armor and perk my ears up to detect which direction that we would be attacked from.

"I'm taking my armor off so I don't damage it. This is the only way to assure that you don't get infected with Sanguinare Vampiris. I have to rise above their level to keep you safe." I tell her as I finally pinpoint the location of the vampires, and finish removing the last of my armor, which leaves me in only my loincloth.

"You are saying that we are about to be attacked by vampires and that the only way for you to make sure that I am safe is to take off all your clothes?! Are you fucking crazy?! We'll both die!" she starts yelling at me. I silence her with a glare and point to the northwest, towards Broken Fang Cave, indicating that they will attack from that direction. She opens her mouth to start yelling again when the three vampires end their invisibility spells, appearing right where I said they would. As they start running to attack us I finally shift into my beast form _. **"** We are one once again, Dragonborn. **"**_ My inner wolf greets me, as he becomes my outer wolf. _**"** Just help me protect the girl! **"**_ I command him as we struggle with each other for control over the actions of our shared physical body. We then look up and see one of the vampires about to hurt Anija, and the wolf finally relinquishes control to me. I tackle the bloodsucker to the ground and rip his head off of his shoulders.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Anija cries as she brings up the war axe to block an attack from one of the other leeches. She seems to have the advantage over this fledgling vampire so I decide to focus my attentions on the night-master vampire who was firing spells at us from a distance. I tackle the parasite and bludgeon her until she stops moving. I look up just in time to see the beautiful redhead brain the vampire with my war axe. Anija then kicks the body of the bloodsucker to the ground as she removes the blade of the axe from the head. She then looks at me; surprisingly there isn't any fear in her eyes. I sit back on my haunches so that my snout is level with her nose.

"Are you a werewolf, Wulfric?" she calmly asks me as she approaches me cautiously. I nod my head, indicating that my answer is yes. At this she crosses the rest of the ground between us and puts a calloused hand to my cheek. I close my eyes when she starts rubbing my ears just as I have done so many times for my dog Meeko. This continues for a few minutes before I start to revert back to my human form. Once I am physically human once more I open my eyes and stare into hers.

"Would you please hand me some clothes from my pack, Anija?" I ask her as if I found myself in the position of being stark naked in the wilderness of Skyrim everyday. Which isn't too far from the truth, to be honest. But usually there isn't a beautiful woman with me when it happens. She comes back over to me with my clothes in her hands.

"You will get these back when you are done answering my questions." She states matter-of-factly. I groan at her declaration. She starts asking me questions anyways.

"How did you become a werewolf? How long have you been a werewolf? Do you have a pack? How big is your pack? Who is your pack? Where is your pack? What rank are you in your pack?" she rattles off question after question and then looks at me expecting an answer. I groan once more before deciding to humor her.

"I became a werewolf when I willingly participated in a ritual for that very reason. I've been a werewolf for about two years now. Yes, I have a pack. Counting myself, there are two full members of my pack, and two honorary members. All three of my pack mates are members of the Companions Guild of Whiterun. They are, of course in Whiterun. I am the alpha of my pack. Does this answer all of your questions, or do you have more?" I grumpily reply.

"Which members of the Companions are werewolves? What do you mean by 'honorary members'? If I join the Companions will I be offered the chance to partake in this 'ritual'? Are you always so grumpy after you change back to human form? Should I be scared of you? Do you have control over the wolf inside of you? Are you communicating with your wolf when you get that distracted yet focused look on your face?" she continues with her interrogation of me. I roll my eyes and let out a third groan as I prepare to answer her questions.

"I am not going to tell you which companion shares in the beast blood, you'll have to find that out for yourself. The honorary members were once full members of the pack, but they chose to cure themselves of the beast blood. You will only be offered the beast blood after you have proven yourself and I have had several lengthy discussions about the matter with my beta. Yes, the wolf is not happy about being forced back inside of my human body, so he makes me grumpy. I hope that you never have a reason to be scared of me. Yes, for the most part I can control the wolf. And yes, when I get the weird look on my face I am talking to my wolf. Now can I please have my clothes back before I get frostbite on my manhood?" I say, reaching for my clothes. At this she tosses the clothes at my face and runs off to give me a little bit of privacy to get redressed.

We arrive in Rorikstead later that day. Thankfully Anija was pretty quiet for most of the rest of the way. After I paid for both of our rooms at the Frostfruit Inn, I had her follow me just outside of the village so I could start training her.

"What kind of weapon do you expect to use against this dragon? A sword, a war axe, a battle axe, a bow?" I ask her as she does some stretches to warm up.

"Umm, I think I would like to use a sword, maybe. I don't really know." She answers nervously. Shit, I must have accidentally scared her. I take a deep breath before I reply.

"So, you expect the dragon to be grounded for most of the battle? I can arrange that for you. Or do you want to add a ranged weapon to your arsenal?" I ask her while digging through my knapsack for some weapons to train her with.

"I guess adding a bow would be a good idea, but doesn't it usually take a few years to become a good shot with a long bow?" she asks me. I then notice that she is staring at my arms, where part of my tattoos are showing. Maybe I can use this to amuse myself a little bit.

"That's why you aren't going to learn how to use a long bow; I'm going to teach you how to use a crossbow. By the way, is there something wrong with my arms, or are they just that good looking?" I say with a smirk. She looks a little startled as she meets my eyes and tries to catch her breath; I just grin wider.

"Umm, no there isn't anything wrong with your arms, they are lovely, umm I mean…" she starts to ramble off incoherently. I chuckle at this and decide to show some mercy to the young woman.

"My tattoos intrigue you, no? Perhaps you wonder what they mean?" I ask in a terrible impression of a Khajiit salesman. She giggles, lightening up a little bit.

"Yeah, I actually was wondering what they mean. By the way, that was the worst Khajiit impression that I have ever heard." Anija admits. I chuckle, and hand her a crossbow and a quiver of bolts.

"Here you go, use that tree over there as a target. If you do well then maybe I'll tell you about my tattoos." I tell her with a wide, lazy grin. She just gives me a baffled look. I motion for her to get on with training.

"How do I even fire it? And how will you know if I'm hitting the spot that I aim for? How should I hold the crossbow? And what about…" I cut her off at this point by putting one of my fingers over her lips. She shuts up and holds her breath.

"You ask a lot of questions don't you? I'll carve a small target into the tree if you want me to. And you should hold the crossbow like so." I tell her, demonstrating the correct way to hold the weapon. Then I go and carve a target for her to aim at.

"What about firing it?" she asks me as she curiously watches me carving into the tree.

"You're a blacksmith, right? Use your skills at that to try and figure it out for yourself. Also, let me know when you hit the target." I tell her with just a bit too much asperity in my voice. I immediately feel guilty about my harsh attitude. But when I turn to apologize, Anija is already completely consumed with figuring the crossbow out. I sigh and go over and sit down, deciding to ask Sahrotaar and the wolf for advice.

 _ **"** About damn time, don't you think, dragon?_ _ **"**_ the wolf muses inside of my head. _**"**_ _I have to agree, grohiik. Our host is too stubborn to ask for our hiif most times._ _ **"**_ Sahrotaar states as if he is some kind of wise sage. _**"** What does 'hiif' mean? **"**_ the wolf asks. _**"**_ _It means help. Now are you two done making fun of me or not? I really need advice._ _ **"**_ I explain to the two entities inside of my head. _**"** Well what seems to be the problem, my kiir? **"**_ Sahrotaar asks kindly. _**"**_ _I'm not a child, much less_ **your** _child, Sahrotaar. The problem is that I keep accidently upsetting Anija, and I don't know that what I do or say is going to upset her until it's too late._ _ **"**_ I explain to the occupants of my head. _**"**_ _You could say that again, my mortal host! Ha, you've upset her soooo many times, oh man. Damn, boy, you're…_ _ **"**_ the wolf starts ranting until Sahrotaar interrupts. _**"**_ _Grohiik?_ _ **"**_ Sahrotaar says in an attempt to get the wolf's attention. _**"**_ _Yeah dragon?_ _ **"**_ replies the wolf. _**"**_ _Silence. You are not helping the situation._ _ **"**_ Sahrotaar commands. _**"**_ _Dovahkiin, just try to get to know her better. Eventually you will figure out what upsets her and learn to avoid it._ _ **"**_ advises the serpentine dragon in my head. At this point Anija calls me to come look at her handiwork.

"Look! I've hit the target 15 times now. Will you tell me about your tattoos now?" she says excitedly while almost dragging me to the tree-target. I look and see that there are indeed 15 crossbow bolts stuck in the tree.

"Depends. How many total times did you fire the crossbow?" I ask her as I begin to remove the bolts from the trunk of the tree.

"I shot all of the bolts that were in the quiver, so that would be 25 shots." She tells me with an ecstatic grin.

"Umm, wow. That's really good. I think that's a 60 percent accuracy rate. I guess I have to tell you about my tattoos now." I half mumble while I awkwardly rub my neck. After we finish gathering the bolts up I sit down with her on the porch of Frostfruit Inn.

"My tattoos are magical in nature and help make me a stronger and better warrior. I got them on one of my adventures. I helped an independent clan of mages get back an artifact that was stolen from them. They gave me these tattoos as payment for my services. That's about all there is to tell about them." I explain to her as she watches me with rapt attention. At the end of my explanation she let out a huge yawn and blushed.

"Maybe we should both turn in for the night. I already paid for a room for you to sleep in. It's right next to my room." I tell her softly as I lead her into the inn and to her room. She sleepily stumbles to her bed and falls down. As I close the door I feel kind of guilty for subtly using the power of the voice to further encourage her to go to sleep. Sometimes I wish I had never learned how to use the Whisper powers of the Voice to get people to do what I tell them to do. I go to my room and change into my bedclothes before laying down for another night of restless sleep and disturbing dreams.

 **Author's Note:**

Hey guys, thanks for reading my story! Please follow, favorite and comment. If you want, I would really appreciate it if you would recommend my story to your friends. Also, if you haven't already, you should take a look at "Season Unending" by Heiwako. That is actually where I got the whole "Whisper power of the Voice to get people to do what you want" idea. Thanks again!

\- PheonixWolfGirl


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